The next morning I woke up really early because I was seasick. It made sense because my medicine was wearing off and the boat was rocking so much that the doors to the closet and even other things in our room were shifting a bit and making noises. It was actually a bit of a struggle to get to the bathroom for a drink of water and to take some Bonine.

I went back to bed and tried to go back to sleep until I heard “Mr. MOB, Mr. MOB, Mr. MOB to the aft. Mr. MOB, Mr. MOB, Mr. MOB to the aft” over the intercom in the room. Now, the announcements almost NEVER come into the rooms on Disney Cruise ships so I knew something was up. Also, working in hospitals, I knew that any announcements repeated and dealing with “Mr.” are usually an emergency situation.

Seeing as I was half asleep, I don’t remember whether the boat turning around happened before or after the announcement, but I do remember trying to get up at one point during the turning. I still had no idea what was going on, but I knew it wasn’t good.

A little while later (30-45 minutes or so?) another announcement came through into the rooms. This time, from the captain, who explained what had happened as apparently many people had been watching the rescue from the decks. He explained that the ship’s crew pulled a man from the water who had not been a passenger of our ship. He explained that the man was alive and alert and was receiving medical care in the ship’s infirmary.

I felt this was very professional of the crew and captain to give a briefing to dispel some of the concerns of people watching or hearing things later in the day. It did not, however, deter the rumor mill from starting of course, since it was all that people were talking about on the ship that morning!

We went to breakfast at Lumiere’s that morning because we wanted to get a good breakfast before heading out on our excursion that started at 11. We were seated with a couple that had seen the rescue and so we heard first hand about how quick and efficient the crew was which made us feel very safe. We were also joined by another older couple who began speculating that the person was “definitely” trying to commit suicide. It irked me that this woman was so definitive on a topic she really knew nothing about. However, since my first impression of her was her saying to me “Oh, you don’t speak English, do you?” because I did not immediately start a conversation with her when she sat down…. I took what she said with a grain of salt.

I’m not saying this was the only speculation we heard that day nor would I say that talking about the situation was a bad thing. It’s natural for humans to pose possibilities to make sense of and cope with an intense situation they just witnessed. No one ever imagines they will be on a boat that has to pull someone from the water. When that possibility becomes a reality, it is understandable that you may not know how to mentally or emotionally deal with it. However, the fact that this women had the audacity to nonchalantly but definitively claim this person was trying to end his life and brush it off as if it was not a big deal bothered me especially as a mental health advocate. Anyway, end of my rant.

At breakfast there will also announcements about certain excursions dealing with water were being cancelled due to high winds as waves. Since our excursion was completely inland (and not booked through Disney) we decided to go to the meeting place as planned figuring ours would still be on. After breakfast, we headed up on deck to watch the ship pull in and get ready to disembark.

Next Up: A Bit of Disappointment in Cozumel.

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